LionsXII eye last-8 finish in Malaysia Cup
KUALA LUMPUR — After relinquishing their Malaysian Super League crown, the LionsXII are looking to at least reach the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Cup.
KUALA LUMPUR — After relinquishing their Malaysian Super League crown, the LionsXII are looking to at least reach the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Cup.
At the draw conducted today (July 13) at the Football Association of Malaysia, the Singaporean side were drawn into Group A alongside holders Pahang, Johor Darul Takzim II, who are captained by Singapore national skipper Shahril Ishak, and Malaysian Premier League side Felda United.
The competition starts on Aug 13 and 14, with preliminary round matches scheduled to be completed by Sept 3, and the quarter-finals resuming on Oct 3 after a month-long break for the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
“There is no question that we have some tough matches ahead in our group,” said LionsXII assistant coach Nazri Nasir.
“We all know the capabilities of Pahang. They won the FA Cup and finished third in the league. Felda United is the FA Cup runner-up and finished second in the Premier League and Johor DT II are no pushovers with Shahril leading the side.
“There are no easy groups in the Malaysia Cup. It’s going to be quite a hectic Malaysia Cup season, especially in the group stages with matches every three days. But the target is at least a place in the last eight.”
This means the LionsXII, who reached the semi-finals and last eight of the Malaysia Cup in 2012 and last year respectively, must finish in the top two of their group.
The bulk of the LionsXII squad, including head coach Fandi Ahmad, are currently on a two-week tour of Austria.
Also in Europe on a training tour are the Singapore national side, where they held Czech Premier League side FC Zbrojovka Brno to a 2-2 draw in Salzburg today.
The visitors twice lead through Khairul Amri and Sahil Suhaimi, but the Czech club drew level on both occasions through Pavel Mezlik and Tomas Brigant.
MALAYSIA CUP DRAW:
Group A: Pahang, LionsXII, Felda United, JDT II
Group B: Terengganu, Sarawak, Perak, Kedah
Group C: JDT, Kelantan, ATM FA, Penang
Group D: Selangor, Sime Darby, Police, T-Team
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